


I will love you always and forever

by hesafineline



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Aaron Hotchner Needs a Hug, Behavioral Analysis Unit (Criminal Minds), Crime Scenes, Criminal Minds (US TV) Season/Series 02, Cute, Emily Prentiss Needs a Hug, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Injured Emily Prentiss, Light Angst, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Aaron Hotchner, Protective BAU Team (Criminal Minds), The BAU Team as Family (Criminal Minds)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:34:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29385648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hesafineline/pseuds/hesafineline
Summary: What if Hotch had never married Haley? had never had Jack? What if he fell in love with Emily the minute she stepped into his office?Basically, what I wanted to happen when Emily joined the team.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	I will love you always and forever

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment on any mistakes etc.! I hope you enjoy it :)  
> its gonna be multiple chapters, each one based on different parts of the series.

He was working on this mornings briefing when he heard a faint knock on his door, “come in”, he sighed, thinking it was Gideon or Penelope with another case. When he looked up, his brows furrowed as a petite brunette stumbled through the door with a box in her hands “agent Hotchner?” she says with a hopeful tone, “I’m agent Emily Prentiss”. She seemed familiar, he thought as he reached out to shake her hand, “oh, how do you do?” he asked kindly before realising who she was “oh, you are ambassador Prentiss’s daughter”, he says excitedly with a sharp snap of his fingers. Her face flushed as he continues describing the connection. “I did security clearance for your mother’s staff; it was one of my first commands. I believe you were off to brown at the time,” he says, confident in his answer; she smiles warmly at him as she replies, “actually it was yale” she corrects him with only a hint of smug in her voice. “I've been in the bureau almost 10 years now” she informs him as if her longevity in the FBI would guarantee her this new job, he's shocked, remembering the younger prentiss so clearly now, he couldn't fathom how it had been so long, “don't tell me that! Has it been that long?” he jokes, “apparently sir,” she says and suddenly he remembers that he was in fact in power over her and they weren't just old friends having a quick chat, he immediately tenses up and clears his throat “how may i help you?” he asks the young woman, “um i meant to start here today” she says while handing him some paperwork which confirms that agent emily prentiss was in fact apart of the BAU, he looks at her bright smile and he can feel his heartbeat “im sorry agent but this must be a mistake, this team doesn't need a new member” she was taken aback by his tone the once warm and joking Aaron Hotchner seemed to vanish in seconds, she doubted herself but stood firm and went on a whole monologue regarding her profiling skills as well as why she would be an asset to the team and before Aaron could reply Gideon knocks and reminds hotch about the briefing. He reiterates to Emily that there’s no job at the moment and tells her where to apply before sauntering off down the hall. She looks at his back in shock and determination; she belonged at the BAU. 

After a lengthy case, all Aaron wanted to do was crawl into his bed and sleep. Still, nothing was ever that simple; as he walked into his dark office, he was met with the now-familiar Emily Prentiss. He sighs but is impressed with her perseverance “you don’t give up, do you?” he says tiredly, “not easily, sir”, she replies with so much energy that it radiates onto Aaron. He smiles at her, not that she can see in the dark of his office. “You start tomorrow,” he said before he could process his thoughts. Had he just hired her? Her excitement was all the confirmation he needed, “you won’t regret this”, she says whilst bouncing up and down on her feet; he wants to tell her that she actually can’t start tomorrow and that he doesn’t need another agent to let him down, but he couldn’t bring himself to crush her. He nods curtly and informs her that maintenance will help her find a desk and before he knew it, she was gone so quickly that he didn’t even notice before it was too late. 

The first few weeks as SSA Emily Prentiss were brutal. The long hours and daily horror were enough to turn the stomachs of most people, and it didn’t seem to faze Emily, though; Hotch thought as he observed the newest member. He couldn’t help himself but be enthralled by her. She was increasingly complicated and shut off but also the most open person you’d ever meet; as he watched her bond with the rest of the team so quickly, he had to admit that hiring her was probably the best choice he had ever made. Aaron couldn’t quite describe how he felt when he looked at Emily or when she looked at him; it was something that he had never felt before; he didn’t know whether it was lust, admiration, curiosity or confusion. All he did know was he was her boss and all the other stuff. The complicated stares and longing glances did not matter. 

It was a dim morning in Virginia, and Aaron was once again sitting in his office, the four bleak walls more familiar than his actual home. He stared out into the bullpen. It lacked a certain warmth he has grown accustomed to since Emily joined the team; he sighed and looked over a case file JJ had placed on his desk a few minutes earlier; brunette women in their late 20s to early 30s were being raped, tortured and killed over a prolonged period and dumped in front of parks. As Hotch read the case’s details, his stomach tightened. This never gets easier; he couldn’t help but think about Emily as he thought about the victimology. The team gathered in the briefing room, and he was relieved to see Emily stroll through the doors with Morgan a few minutes after he did. He sat down as Garcia began to brief the team; she explained what had happened to the currently known victims and potential victims based on the known missing people in the town. The team got straight to work, there had already been five victims in the last five years, and the cooling-off period was getting shorter and shorter with each kill. Hotch told the team they would leave for Ohio in 15 minutes. He went back to his office and grabbed his bag before heading to the airstrip. He and Emily were the first on the plane today, and she took the seat next to his. He could smell her perfume as she softly spoke about the case; he couldn’t help but be impressed with how good she was at this job. Eventually, the rest of the team joined, and they were soon in the air for the short flight to Ohio; they began to talk about the case more; Hotch asked them what they thought about the victimology/dumpsite/MO? What did it suggest? They all pondered, but Emily spoke up first,

“Well, the victims so far have been late 20s early 30s with deep brunette hair, and all the crimes seem to be sexually motivated; this suggests a sexual sadist of a similar age bracket, someone well organised and the fact the dumpsite has consistently been outside parks suggests arrogance but also like an added level of torture by victimising the people who attend the park he uses as a dumpsite. They are who finds these extremely mutilated bodies” she sighed as she finished her analysis of the crime, like there was more she wanted to say but couldn’t explain. 

Hotch nodded, agreeing with her views and asked the team if they had anything to add; however, with the limited amount of information available, it was no surprise to him when they said no. The next 45 minutes were spent getting Garcia to do a full background search of the known victims to see any link. As they landed, Hotch gave everyone their assignments; he paired Emily and Morgan and asked them to go to the latest disposal site. He and JJ were going to set up at the local precinct whilst Gideon and Reif went to the M.E’s office. 

The first few days on the case were exhausting, barely any information on any of the victims or the unsub and the whole team had 12 hours of sleep between them. Hotch had seen these cases way too many times before, and he knew the statistics, but this felt different; it felt almost personal. The unsub knew the FBI were in town, a crucial part of catching him was to appeal to the public, but the unsub didn’t seem to care; they usually get sloppy when the press knows, they most likely kill more often, but this unsub seemed calm, no deviations, not last minutes abductions. He was sticking to a pattern they couldn’t understand, and he was driven by more than sex, torture and murder. It hit Emily hard; knowing she was his ideal victim type had got into her head. Hotch didn’t know why this case was different, and he couldn’t explain it. 

After about a week in Ohio, another body had been dumped in front of a public park, the victim was Emily’s doppelganger, and everyone could see it. The victim was last seen in a yellow dress but was found in a grey pantsuit identical to those that Emily often wears, her hair curled the same way and her lips smudged with red lipstick. Hotch and Emily had been the ones to assess the scene, and she went deathly pale as soon as the sheet was pulled back. Hotch took her back to the car, and she broke down. Hotch didn’t know how to comfort her, his heart ached for her, and he hated seeing the tears stream down her face. He knew the unsub must’ve been watching the team and has done this to taunt them. He wrapped his arms around Emily and stroked her hair. At this moment, he didn’t care that she was his subordinate, that this was against protocol, she needed someone, and he was there. She sobbed into his suit jacket, and he could feel the wetness seeping into his shirt. She managed to speak after a few minutes,

“Hotch, I know who the unsub is, a case I worked on a few years back. The unsub was obsessed with me; he would leave letters, flowers, and even packages at my house. The MO was different. It wasn’t this extreme, but I know it’s him”

Hotch sighed, “when did you realise or suspect it was the same guy?”

She was now off his chest and looking at him with bloodshot eyes, “I had this feeling on the plane as I went through the case, but I didn’t piece it together until we saw the latest victim.” 

He nodded and told her to ring Garcia to get the case notes to us ASAP while he goes back to the scene. She nods and grabs her phone from her pocket. After this, they could narrow down the search and identify a viable suspect; they all geared up and went to his last known address. Hotch tried to get Emily to stay at the precinct, but she was adamant that she needed to see this through. When they got to the house, Emily went off to search the upstairs of the house with Morgan and Reid whilst he, Gideon and some of the local PD searched downstairs and the surrounding property. Downstairs was clear, and he made his way upstairs where he saw Emily passed out with the suspect standing over her; Morgan and Reid were in different rooms. Hotch couldn’t alert them without alerting the suspect, so he snuck up to where he was stood and tried to stay calm as he saw Emily’s face covered in blood. 

When hotch had a suitable gap between him and the suspect, he tried to talk him down, “Step away from her, Chris”, he said in the most neutral voice he could; the suspect didn’t even flinch when hotch spoke, “If you put the gun down and step away from her you can tell the world what you did in your own words” hotch tried to convince him, the suspect had a gun pointing to Emily’s head, hotch could shoot, but he didn’t want to risk hurting Emily. Hence, his best chance was to get him to surrender. 

“She’s so beautiful, isn’t she? She looks very angelic like this, so helpless. Did she tell you she knows me? I have been waiting for her for so long.” The suspect said he was looking down at her, he almost sounded genuine, like he did care for her, but Hotch knew it wasn’t sincere. 

“She's very beautiful, Chris. I know she’s just your type, but you don’t need to hurt her. Put the gun down, and you’ll be able to speak to her.” hatch said, hoping that this tactic would work.

“Do you promise me?” he said, now looking at hotch, the gun still firmly in his hands. At this point, Morgan and Reid were behind him, so hotch withdrew his weapon. 

“I promise,” Hotch replied; Chris placed his gun on the floor, and Reid went to grab it while Morgan stepped in to handcuff the suspect. Hotch went over to Emily and called for a medic, he found himself stroking her hair again whilst he spoke to her; he could see she was breathing, the medics came in moments later, but he stayed by her side. 

A few hours later, he walked into her hospital room, and she was asleep, so he sat down in the chair next to her bed and just watched her sleep. She woke up to the sound of someone entering the room, and she gently opened her eyes to see Hotch sitting down. She realised he didn’t know she was awake, so she lay still for a little while; eventually, she looks over at him and goes “I hear you think I’m very beautiful” she smiles weakly. He could feel his face go red. He clears his throat and stammers over his words, “how are you feeling?” he finally manages to ask. 

“Like someone just beat the crap out of me”, is what she replied; at this point, hotch had migrated closer to her bed, “I’m glad you’re okay,” he says, he scans her face “, and yes. I think you’re very beautiful”. Emily thought for a moment and was about to reply, but the whole team came into her room. Hotch stepped back, allowing his team to ask Emily a million questions. As they did, she looked over at him and smiled.


End file.
